Our Little Beastie Blog

Sunday, May 30, 2021

One Month of Adelaide

Itsy Bitsy Beastie arrived April 30, 2021 - and she fit right in.

Welcome, Adelaide - Shannon Wight Photography - May 7, 2021

Chris and Elizabeth had prepared for a long-ish, COVID-protocol stay. Mostly that meant A LOT of food since Chris was discouraged from leaving the hospital. We didn't say it out loud, but there was always the low key preparation for a NICU stay.

Turns out, we were in the hospital under twelve hours when Itsy Bitsy was born. It was not a drama-free delivery, but this time the excitement centered more around Elizabeth than baby. High blood pressure, surprise bleeding, and from 3cm to "time to push" in under an hour. It was a totally different experience this time around (::cough:: they were too slow on the epidural ::cough::).

Happily, Itsy Bitsy looked perfect on the monitors the whole time. Elizabeth had to get some extra bloodwork and was counseled significantly for high blood pressure-related symptoms to watch for, but she's recovering well now too.

Just born - April 30, 2021

And she's HERE! Itsy Bitsy Beastie, also known as Adelaide Agnes Fiorani Thoma. In keeping with the tradition of using middle names in memory of loved ones, she has "Agnes," Elizabeth's paternal grandmother's name. May she have her great-grandmother's adventurous spirit and fierce loyalty.

We're all very happy to put the labor (and truth be told, the whole pregnancy) in the rear view mirror. Pregnancy is a crazy emotional time under the best circumstances, and Itsy Bitsy's pregnancy had a lot of scares. After three successive miscarriages, we've been holding our breath for a long time - and it feels like we can finally exhale.

Now it's just garden-variety newborn anxiety.

Bringing Her Home

It was the cutest thing ever. Yes, we had envisioned Everett and Imogen coming to the hospital to meet their wrinkly newborn sister, but that's not how it worked out during the pandemic. Instead, we kept pictures to ourselves until we could bring Adelaide (Addy) home to meet her siblings.

Meeting Addy - May 1, 2021

We're only a month in, but so far big brother and big sister are sweet and gentle with Adelaide, or ignore her to do their own thing. That is totally fine by us! We want to avoid any jealousy so as long as they are happy and getting the attention they need we are GREAT.

Storytime - May 9, 2021

Big sibling shirts! - May 21, 2021

Getting out the toys - May 30, 2021

The First Month

The first month is the only month we had with Oberon. Any of the things that will be done "with all four" had to be done this month. That meant thinking ahead, making sure, all the things. It's emotionally draining and sometimes simply overwhelming. We compartmentalize or disassociate just to get through it, because we know we'll want it later.

Koala photo on the blanket Elizabeth made for Oberon - May 12,, 2021

The emotions related to Oberon swell more towards the end of the month. As Addy transitions from "the littlest" to "the last born, but outlived Obie," there are a lot of feelings. Of course, we want Addy to have a full, long, healthy, happy life. Even so, there is this twinge that Obie is being left behind. The newborn phase is ending - how do we reconcile that with our son who was only ever a newborn?

All of that said, we are in a better mental and emotional place than we were when Everett was this age. Maybe slightly worse than with Imogen. We were never in a headspace that Imogen would be our last baby when she was newborn. It feels different with Adelaide.

The Good Stuff

It's not all super-serious emotional stuff. Chris took a full four weeks (!) of parental leave and it feels LUXURIOUS. We take walks, we get stuff around the house done, we shower at semi-regular intervals. Can it always be like this? Is work over?

Addy is an adorable baby. She's starting to make more faces, interact more, and she's packing on the ounces (at least one pound, but not yet two). She isn't super fussy (yet), she sleeps okay (for a newborn, most nights), and feeding is going pretty well for everyone.

We've had a couple outings with all three car seats filled, we've rocked our doctor's appointments, and we're ready to take on the next big changes. Can anyone remind us what an office is?

Before heading to the hospital - April 29, 2021

Baby's first sunrise - April 30, 2021

May the 4th be with you

Monday, April 26, 2021

Spring-ing Forward

This spring really lives up to the whole "new beginnings" vibe. There's the biggest, most obvious example of Itsy Bitsy Beastie and her impending debut, but there have been lots of other things in bloom.

Abby Alger Photography - March 25, 2021

Imogen Starts Preschool

No surprise, she's doing great.

Preschooler - March 31, 2021

Return to Playgrounds

With the warmer weather, more vaccinated adults, and case rates still low, we've ventured out to more playgrounds and more masked-up outdoor play dates. As vaccination rates increase, we'll continue evaluating whether we need to be outdoors, masked up, and distanced, but for now we're continuing all the things.

Playground with friends - April 10, 2021

That said, it has been SO NICE to chat outside with friends and watch the kids play. They do amazingly well keeping their masks on, even when it's a bit warm.

Germ Time

Everett and Imogen have both had more and more questions about the coronavirus and viruses in general. We got a book that goes into pretty good detail, and having a biochem major for a father certainly helps with all the questions!

Looking up real virus pictures while reading about them - April 9, 2021

Chris and Elizabeth are both fully vaccinated. While both had some side effects (Chris's significantly worse), we'd trade it again for the immunity any day. Everett is eagerly awaiting his turn as well. In his own words, he wants the antibodies even though he is a little scared of the poke.

Itsy Bitsy Beastie

It's been a long time coming, but we are almost there. The anxiety for Elizabeth has been very intense at times. On the plus side, Itsy Bitsy is an "aggressive" baby with her movements. We'd like to point out that this adjective was used by a physician, not us. On the flip, when she isn't moving so often or forcefully, the fear creeps in quickly. We are lucky to have a very attentive care team to help us through both the physical symptoms and questions of pregnancy and the mental / emotional ones.

L'il & Bitty Beastie

Everett and Imogen have both had some emotional struggles lately, and it's hard to be sure whether it's typical growth and development or if our anxiety (or all the other changes!) are rubbing off on them. Imogen is solidly a "threenager" with boundary testing and the emergence of her alter-ego, the sass monster.

Preschool drop-off photo - April 1, 2021

She seems to be tapping into familiar manipulation tactics far earlier than Everett did. One example is when Mommy told her it was a preschool day, and she calmly turned to Daddy after Mommy left the room to ask him if it was a preschool day. Both of our eyes got wide... already?

Everett isn't pushing boundaries, but he is melting down from more minor things. He definitely feels the impact of our day care provider moving away and not being able to see them. We're sure that's part of why he becomes a puddle of sadness when Imogen refuses to share a toy. It's hilarious to us because Imogen is a classic, "no, I won't share this with you" to get a reaction and as soon as you aren't crying about it, she hands it over. Not her best trait.

Pirate party! - April 18, 2021

He also has a very difficult time staying on task. Imogen is super entertaining and he'll get distracted by her, by some random toy, by a cat, by his own thoughts... and we keep trying to bring him back to the task at hand (usually getting dressed, cleaning up, or clearing his dishes).

For her, out strategy for now is ignoring and some tough love (consequences). Oh, I asked you not to step on that toy and you defiantly did it? That is an immediate time out. Oh, you won't respond to me asking you to pick out clothes? You can sit in the nursery until you are ready to help. We're trying our best to be consistent and not get visibly emotional and frustrated... easier said than done.

For him, it's a lot of, "would a hug help?" The answer is almost always yes. We talk through options and strategies and try to breathe through the more intense emotions. It'll be interesting to see how Everett does once Itsy Bitsy is here. Will he flourish as a helper? He often enjoys that. Or will he deeply feel the decreased 1:1 attention? It's a distinct possibility and we'll have to be mindful.